Rats and mice will also scamper towards food when people feed birds, or they will burrow under compost heaps where there isn’t a base.

Simon Neighbour

Simon Neighbour, environmental health manager for Preston City Council, which still offers a free pest control service, said: “The older the property, the more likely there may be defects in the brickwork and they will go in through a cavity.

“Rats and mice will also scamper towards food when people feed birds, or they will burrow under compost heaps where there isn’t a base.

“We generate a map every month which shows the clusters where we have had complaints from, and we carry out sewer baiting in these areas which is effective in tackling rats.

“We had a call from one lady who said her cat was bringing in a rat every day. She lived near a canal and so we got in touch with the water authority to sort it out.

“When people feed ducks, they are also feeding rats which are attracted to the crumbs. We had this problem at The Serpentine in Moor Park.

“We put signs up and people don’t feed the ducks as much and now there are no more rats.”

Coun Martyn Rawlinson, who represents Fishwick ward, which includes some of the streets with high call out rates to pest control, said there were a lot of older properties in the area.

He said: “There are sometimes particular areas where problems reoccur.

“Rats only tend to appear where there is food, so it could be down to poor waste management by some residents or fly-tipping.

“Preston still has a free pest control service and we also work alongside United Utilities on baiting in the drains to keep rats down.

“So I think the council does everything it can, and probably more than most councils these days.”

In Wyre, Poulton and Fleetwood were the most visited areas, but Pilling Lane in Preesall had eight reports of rats.

In Fylde, Woodlands Drive, Wrea Green was the busiest spot, with 13 requests for help from Fylde Council – 12 for mice and one for wasps.Monkswood Avenue, Morecambe, was the most visited street by Lancaster Council’s pest controllers last year, with nine call0 outs to deal with rats, three with mice, two for bees and three for wasps.

Figures were requested from Chorley and South Ribble Councils but were not provided.

The figures, which were provided following a Freedom of Information request asking councils for data for the most visited streets, do not cover private pest control operators who also respond to calls.